The IFIP Technical Assembly is the committee of Technical Committee Chairs, Chaired by the Technical Assembly Chair, who is elected by the Assembly members. The Technical Assembly has the responsibility for guiding IFIP through the rapidly changing technological world in which IFIP operates. It monitors performance in IFIP’s existing technical work, stimulates the extension and development of that work and initiates new activities.

Officers of the IFIP Executive Committee are also part Ex-Officio members of the full Technical Assembly, which meets annually the day before the IFIP General Assembly.

Meetings of the TA Chair and the TC Chairs take place online several times over the course of the year between General Assemblies, at which the business of the Technical Committees is discussed and progressed. Projects of the Technical Assembly as a whole are also conceived, moderated, and progressed through these meetings and through the work of the Technical Committees and in reports to the General Assembly.  The Technical Assembly approves the establishment of new Working Groups, Specialist Groups, or the dissolution or redirection of existing ones.  The Technical Assembly Chair makes an annual report from the TA to the General Assembly each year.  A Working Group consists of technical experts selected and assigned without consideration of nationality to work in a specified technical area. The scope of an established Working Group shall be published on the IFIP website. A Working Group may be dissolved or re-directed by the Technical Assembly upon consultation with, or recommendation of, its Technical Committee or Specialist Group.

To allow new areas of interest to be explored, the Technical Assembly may establish provisional Specialist Groups (SG), composed initially as a small group of recognized specialists and with a provisional charter to assess the interest for more permanent activities in IFIP within the area. Within five years the Technical Assembly will either disband the group or recommend to the General Assembly that it be transformed into a Technical Committee or a Working Group of an existing Technical Committee.  A Working Group may be established by the Technical Assembly upon the submission by a Technical Committee of the proposed scope of the Working Group.

Technical Assembly (TA) – Charter

1. To stimulate action to develop new initiatives with regard to the overall nature and scope of IFIP’s technical activities, the level of participation, and the general need to ensure that IFIP constantly improves its relevance to its target audiences.
2. To constantly review the aims, structure and thrust of IFIP technical activities with the aim of recommending to the General Assembly changes as appropriate to improve the continuing relevance of IFIP.
3. To review proposals for IFIP participation in new areas of activity with a view to recommending to the relevant authority appropriate action to be taken, including the establishment of new TCs, SGs and WGs.
4. To promote the effective interfacing of Affiliate Members’ and other relevant organizations’ activities where this contributes to the advancement of information processing to the benefit of such bodies and IFIP, as well as the community at large.
5. To initiate Review Committees; to receive their reports, if necessary adding comments and recommendations, and distribute to Council Members and members of the reviewed body.

The Technical Assembly is currently Chaired by Dr David Kreps, formerly Chair of TC9, formerly Chair of WG9.5.
Previous Chairs: Philippe Palanque (2020-2023); Michael Goedicke (2017-2020).